Beatrice Hamza Bassey

Biography

Ms. Beatrice Hamza Bassey has been Group General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Atlas Mara Limited since February 16, 2015 and led Atlas Mara’s acquisition and integration of the nine banks it has acquired in Africa for much of that period. From February 2017 to May 2018 she was the Chair of Atlas Mara’s Executive Committee and led the company through a transformative period. Prior to that Ms. Hamza Bassey was a Partner at a major Wall Street law firm, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP where she chaired the firm’s Africa Practice Group and counseled clients and represented a roster of global entities in compliance and corporate governance matters. She was trusted adviser to several general counsels and compliance officers, CEOs and Board Risk and Compliance Committees as well as senior business executives of NYSE and CAC 40 companies as well as privately held companies. She circled the globe representing clients including designing and implementing integrated compliance programs, conducting pre-acquisition and post-acquisition due diligence, interfacing with regulators across Africa, the US, UK and other international regulators. Clients frequently call upon her to bring to bear her knowledge of the regulatory landscapes and multi-jurisdictional environments to help formulate viable, forward-looking options for mitigating risks of pursuing business opportunities in various parts of the world. Her work includes providing advice related to activities in Angola, Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, China, Ghana, France, Gabon, Ghana, Germany, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Panama, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, the United States of America, Zambia and Zimbabwe. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director at Union Bank of Nigeria PLC, Banque Populaire du Rwanda S.A. and BancABC Botswana. Ms. Hamza Bassey has received numerous recognitions and accolades for her work and impact on the industry including by CNN, Forbes, The Wall Street Journals, New York Times, The American Lawyer, among others.